If you had $250 billion to fight climate change, where would you begin?
This is the exact challenge taken on by students in the University Honors Program seminar, Living with Our Changing Climate (UHON 395H).
Eric Hunt, an extension educator in the School of Natural Resources, designed the project to move beyond traditional lecturing and give students the opportunity to immerse themselves in literature and data, to prove what is going on Earth’s changing climate. Hunt is particularly passionate about the project, recognizing that his students will have to live with and adapt to climate change.
“At their age, they tend to be more creative than people who get to be 50 or 60 years old, which is the typical age of lawmakers," Hunt said.
Although the project’s scope may have seemed initially intimidating, Hunt divided the task into manageable steps and assigned course participants to one of four distinct regions of the United States – West Coast, Heartland, Gulf Coast and Northeast. Each group was strategically composed of students with diverse majors and personalities to counter groupthink and create balance in climate approaches.
Aidan Hand, a senior biological sciences major, found the group dynamics to be particularly rewarding.
“My group-mates in other majors had differing ideas and perspectives that I likely wouldn't have thought of on my own,” Hand said. “Projects like this would never be done by only one person in the real world, so it's more realistic to real climate change mitigation efforts.”
Working collaboratively, each group evaluated current climate trends, gathered historical data, and determined specific social vulnerabilities within their region to develop a comprehensive set of climate mitigation strategies. The results included:
- The West Coast team focused on enhancing water resource management through conservation, infrastructure improvement, and desalination. They also proposed renewable energy expansion (solar, wind, geothermal, and wave power) and modernizing the energy grid for better integration;
- The Heartland team proposed solutions like flood management through green infrastructure and restoring floodplains, wildfire mitigation via trained personnel, natural barriers, and controlled burns, and improving agricultural sustainability with drip irrigation and transitioning crop rows to switchgrass;
- The Gulf Coast team emphasized mangrove restoration and protection as well as dead zone mitigation through runoff reduction initiatives, large-scale nutrient filtration systems, and partnerships with Gulf Coast industries; and
- The Northeast team focused on solutions like green roofs, sponge cities, and sustainable drainage systems to manage stormwater and reduce urban flooding.
Hunt already had predicted exceptional results from his students, but the project outcomes surpassed his highest hopes.
“The group projects exceeded my expectations 100%," Hand said. "They really knocked it out of the park, and I’m very proud of all of them."
Not only did these projects yield viable climate mitigation solutions, they also helped students overcome climate fear and empowered them to act.
“This project has caused me to believe that I can make a change," said Mollie Peterson of the Northeast team. "The ideas that I share with the world matter.”
Hunt said the students' work empowered his work even more.
“You get inspired to do good work when you see young people who are motivated, doing good things," Hunt said. "I think there’s a little too much doom and gloom out there, and my students really motivate me to do other aspects of my job very well.”
Moving forward, Hunt plans to share his students’ results across his professional network to potentially incorporate them into future climate plans. Course participants will also continue to develop and share their climate knowledge with others.
"The content seen in this course has already helped in everyday conversations," Peterson said. "There are so many opportunities to share what you know about the climate and to learn from others.”
